More Attention Paid To Physicians, Patients

Medical and pharmacy directors at health insurance plans have to always be on the lookout for what employers want. That’s been the nature of the managed care industry and of our entire health care system for decades and still is, for the most part. That qualifier is important. You may have noticed that change is afoot. That’s partly because of health reform. Anything that (dare we say it?) revolutionary is bound to have the “guinea pig swallowed by the python effect.” It will cause a bump for years to come.

This first issue of the new year — our 20th year — suggests how much has already changed. The stories do not focus solely on the employer-health plan dynamic. There’s more going on here, a deeper bow to the idea that doctors, hospitals and patients are business partners as well.